Date Time Potential ‘Achilles’ heel’ of SARS-CoV-2 virus captured on video Proteins known as lectins can bind to the spike protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and prevent it from accessing human cells, an international team of researchers led by the University of British Columbia’s Dr. Josef Penninger has demonstrated. They have captured the action on the pathogen’s spike protein via video. “Lectins are proteins that can bind the sugar molecule structure on lipids or proteins such as the spike protein,” explains Dr. Penninger, director of the Life Sciences Institute in Vancouver. “Our idea is to harness this property to develop a drug to combat COVID-19 disease.”